Page 88 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 2

Once, I narrowly escaped revealing us as a couple when we were having beers at the Thinker. I’d had my first one too quickly and my hand randomly traveled to the back of Tyler’s head. That was nothing unusual, we’d both reminded ourselves from time to time, but when the beer made me sway, I rested my head on his shoulder. Still, we’d acted like that in the past, so nobody paid too much attention to it until I caught a faint whiff of Tyler’s cologne, and it catapulted me into the memory of being in his arms, kissing his neck and chest, licking his body wherever I wished. The flash of images made my face red with heat and I lifted my head to claim the kiss that was due, remembering at the last moment that three joined tables were witnessing my foolishness.

I had avoided the disaster that night, but a new thought was worming its way into my head.

It was Tyler who voiced it a week later when we lay in the lazy slumber after sex. “I wonder if the guys are starting to notice something different.”

I licked my lips and allowed my heart to stumble with fear before gathering my thoughts. “If they are, nobody’s saying anything.”

Tyler looked into my eyes. “They’re good people.”

I nodded my agreement.

“If they know,” he said carefully. “I mean, it’s not like they’ll want to out us, right?”

“It’s not our teammates I’m worried about,” I admitted. “Them knowing isn’t the worst thing that could happen.”

Tyler silently agreed with me and we drifted off to sleep for a while.

Whether it was just a careless blunder, the trust I had in our teammates, or, most likely, the sprout from the seed Tyler and I had planted on that night, the moment came on its own. And the reasons for it changed nothing. Tyler and I were playing table soccer while Asher and Phoenix took turns competing at the vintage Flipper we had in one corner with the rest of the arcade games. Beckett and Caden were playing something on the gaming console that only they cared about, and Avery had brought an intruder into our basement, to everyone’s surprise, even though we didn’t have any rules about who was allowed. Gray and Sawyer were chatting like old friends, a quiet air of respect for one another radiating for the whole room to see. We both care about Avery, it said. That’s all that matters.

The exchange between the two distracted me for long enough to be a nanosecond too late in my defense. Tyler scored the winning point and cackled victoriously as I pushed away from the game. I circled the table and sat on its edge, sipping my beer. The can was in my left hand and my right was around Tyler’s shoulders. “Laugh all you want,” I growled. “I’ll make you weep when we’re alone.”

Tyler looked into my eyes with all his natural naughtiness on full display. “If you’re threatening me with a good time, think again.” He pushed into me with his chest, and I threw my head back and laughed out loud, almost completely oblivious to the fact that we were surrounded by people. “I’ll make you beg before I’m done with you,” Tyler said.

“Holy shit,” Phoenix cried. “Get a bucket of water, they’re on fire.”

My cheeks burst into flames as Tyler and I simultaneously seemed to recall that we were in the basement and that seven guys surrounded us.

“What the hell was that?” Sawyer demanded.

I looked around the room, mouth open and eyes wide and unblinking. Even Beckett and Caden had stopped playing and Asher lost his ball in the Flipper machine while staring at us.

“You two?” Caden asked in a voice that was an octave higher than his natural one.

Phoenix wore a grin. Sawyer’s mouth was hanging open. And Avery blinked once, which probably translated into great shock.

“Is it the house, do you think?” Beckett pondered. “Some ancient hex turning us all gay?”

My heart pounded so hard that I had to hold onto Tyler’s shoulder. It wasn’t fear, though.

“How long?” Asher asked.

“Yeah,” Caden echoed, his tone returning to a more normal, deeper range. “How long have you been…?”

“What’s up, babe?” Beckett teased him. “Can’t say it?”

“Sleeping together,” Caden said, his chin high with indignation.

Beckett snorted. “We’d all like to know, lover boys.”

I gritted my teeth. Tyler squeaked awkwardly because I couldn’t get my voice through. “Two…”

I cleared my throat. “More like three.”

Sawyer’s mouth hung for a heartbeat. “Three whole weeks and nobody noticed?”

Tyler and I exchanged a look, biting our lips guiltily.

“Hold on,” Beckett said, jumping from the seat of the sofa to sit on the back of it. “Are you telling us you’ve been fucking for three months? You better, though. If you say it’s been three years, I’ll denounce you.”